”Boel Bermann is a woman of many talents — she’s a journalist, works at a game company, is part of a writing collective with their own podcast… and after all that, she’s also the author of an intriguing dystopian novel, The New Children. In the novel, she explores the thing we fear the most — what if something was wrong with our kids? Our sisters and brothers? It’s a scary thought, making kids the ones to be feared.

Hopefully there’s chance we’ll see Den nya människan (Swedish title) in English some day. But until then, read on to discover why Boel enjoys dystopias, what she hopes to explore in her writing and how different her writing process is for her work at the game company when compared to writing her novels.”

Books read in February 2014: Boel Bermann: Den nya människan. (The New Children.)

”Another nice surprise – a well-written, thrilling and thought-provoking sf novel, of course with no mention of being sf other than a note that the author is a member of a blog collective that is focused on fantasy, sci-fi and horror. In the very near future (2014!) no more babies are born. After some years births start again, but the new babies are strange, they develop rapidly and it is increasingly obvious that they are a threat to humanity. The threat from small babies reminds me of “The Little Assassin” by Bradbury, and the rise of a new race of humans was used by Van Vogt in Slan. This story was more frightening, partly due to the fact that it was set in the here and now. The language was elegant and the use of interspersed scientific or newspaper articles was effective. Highly recommended.”

That’s what they tell me in the police station interrogation room. Inside my head, I’m screaming.

– It wasn’t a child I killed. It was something completely different. Can’t you see that?’

No children are being born and the world is in shock. After a few years, women begin to get pregnant again, but the new children are not like children used to be. They don’t play games or show emotions, they only watch silently. Against her will, Rakel becomes involved when she kills one of the new children. She is among the first to realize that the new generation is a threat to humanity’s very existence.

More children are born and they develop faster than normal humans. After a brutal incident at work, Rakel escapes: From anxiety and betrayed love, seeking solace in drink and the company of strangers. Until she discovers something …

Press

The New Children by Boel Bermann is a discomforting vision of our future. Rakel, a computer games developer, realizes that the new children born after a period of worldwide infertility are different. But what do they really want? Are they a threat to humanity? Thrilling and ominous vision of the future with both hope and chaos within reach.’
Metro, Sweden

‘The child stops being loyal to the society that is not loyal towards the child and stares right through them. The apartment with the abandoned child could be taken from Boel Bermann’s sharp debut novel published this Fall. Bermann writes in the dystopian sci-fi tradition where humanity eats their own children. Such heart-stopping stories of the end of childhood and the collapse of civilization reflect the novels by Brian Aldiss (Greybeard, 1964) and P D James (Children of Men, 1992). They depict the merciless dictatorships that arise when there is no ideological hope for the future. The last generation of children in P D James’ novel live in a society of strong, healthy independent adults.’
Dagens Nyheter, Sweden

‘Great to see the Swedish dystopia take a step forward. Interesting, with parallels to be drawn with our own society.’
Dagensbok.com, Sweden

‘This is a dystopia that sends shivers down your spine from the first page. The story is told through newspaper articles, research interviews and the main narrative told by Rakel. That the future portrayed is so close in time and that the society largely resembles our current society makes it all the more frightening. The story is well written and the characters believable. The reader soon begins to wonder if this nightmare could come true: how should we relate to it? A very captivating debut.’
Bibliotek i Fokus, Sweden

”Praised, dystopian debutant author who combines her interest for fantasy, science-fiction and horror, developing world famous video games.

Boel Bermann’s debut novel The New Children, set in the near future, was published in Sweden in Fall 2013. The author has a background as a reporter at several large newspapers in Sweden and she’s also a member of the Swedish writers collective Fear, which blogs and produces a podcast of science-fiction, fantasy and horror short stories. Besides writing Boel also works at the games company Paradox Development Studio.

She previously studied journalism, criminology, social science, film science and social anthropology at Stockholm University.”